Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
This study aimed to examine the mediating effect of depression on the relationship between subjective health and life satisfaction among parents of children with disabilities. It also explored whether differences exist between groups of parents based on their child’s disability type. The study used a sample of 1,914 parents from the fourth year of the Disability and Life Dynamics Panel, including 1,234 parents of children with physical disabilities and 680 parents of children with mental disabilities. The independent variable was subjective health, the dependent variable was life satisfaction, the mediator was depression, and the control variables were sex, age, type of disability, and level of disability. Disabilities were categorized as either physical or mental. Analysis showed that subjective health and life satisfaction were significantly higher among parents of children with physical disabilities. Although depression was higher among parents of children with mental disabilities, this difference was not statistically significant. The mediation model tests indicated that the models were significant for both groups of parents. However, parents of children with mental disabilities were more likely to be affected by depression. The results provide a policy basis for offering social services to support the mental wellbeing of parents of children with disabilities.
Kim et al. (Sun,) studied this question.